Page 223 . Volume 13, Issue 2 November 2016 Linking fantasy to everyday life: Patterns of orientation and connections to reality in the case of The Hobbit Uwe Hasebrink, University of Hamburg, Germany Ingrid Paus-Hasebrink, University of Salzburg, Austria Abstract: How do viewers of fantasy link this symbolic material to their everyday lives? Starting from theoretical approaches that regard popular culture as a resource for coping with challenges of social circumstances and of everyday life we develop the argument that different patterns of orientation towards cultural products go along with different references to reality. We take The Hobbit as a particular case of a popular product and the World Hobbit Project with its global data on vieǁeƌs ƌeaĐtioŶs to these filŵs as the ďasis foƌ ouƌ ƌeseaƌĐh. Based oŶ staŶdaƌdised iŶdiĐatoƌs foƌ ǀieǁeƌs iŶteƌest iŶ The Hobbit itself, iŶ TolkieŶs ǁoƌld, iŶ the geŶƌe of faŶtasLJ, aŶd iŶ ďig ĐiŶeŵa iŶ geŶeƌal ǁe ideŶtifLJ distiŶĐt patteƌŶs of orientation that go along with differences regarding film appreciation and perceived functions of fantasy. By means of a qualitative analysis of open answers from Austria and Germany regarding broader issues and aspects of personal relevance that are raised by the film we identify relevant ways and topics, by which viewers link the film to their everyday life, e.g. the current refugee crisis. Based on that, we conduct a quantitative analysis showing that the patterns of orientation go along with different references to the real world. Key words: Fantasy audiences, everyday life, qualitative and quantitative methods, The Hobbit as symbolic material, patterns of orientation towards fantasy products